Haunted Castle (video game)
|composer=Christopher Young Stanley Myers |series=''Castlevania'' |platforms=Arcade, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC (Steam) |release='Arcade' |NA|February 1988 |EU|November 1988}}PlayStation 2 PlayStation 4 |genre=Platforming |modes=Single-player |cabinet=Upright |sound=Yamaha YM3812, Konami K051649, Konami K007232 |display=Raster, 256 x 224, horizontal orientation }} Haunted Castle }} is a side-scrolling platform game released by Konami for the arcades in 1988. The game serves as an adaptation of the original Castlevania (hence the Japanese title), but was not marketed as part of the series outside Japan. Unlike VS. Castlevania (an earlier Vs. System version released exclusively in North America in 1987), it is not a direct port of the NES version, but rather it is a completely new game running on custom JAMMA-based hardware. The game has the player controlling Simon Belmont, who embarks on a journey to save his new wife Serena from the clutches of Count Dracula. Simon must trek through six stages in order to reach the Count's lair. Gameplay Haunted Castle is a typical platform game with six stages, which are played through in a linear progression. The player controls the main character, whose primary weapon is a whip. He must fight various enemies which consist partially of skeletons, zombies, fishmen, and hunchbacks. By destroying certain enemies, he can switch his weapon to a more powerful spiked flail or a sword. In addition, various "sub-weapons" can be obtained which provide different means of attack which consist of bombs (powerful ground attack), boomerangs (straight attack), stopwatches (stop enemies), crosses (powerful straight attack), and torches (work like the Holy Water in the other Castlevania games). Hearts are collected to use each of these "sub-weapons." The player can only carry one sub-weapon at a time. Each of Haunted Castle's six levels conclude with a boss fight. Like in other games of the series, these bosses are generally taken from horror literature or legend, and include Medusa, Frankenstein's monster, and, being a series staple, Dracula. Development Audio The soundtrack was composed in part by Christopher Young and Stanley Myers, who previously did the soundtrack to Castlevania II: Simon's Quest. There are a several notable music tracks in Haunted Castle that have been reused in other Castlevania games. The well-recognized "Bloody Tears" (first heard in the previously released Castlevania II) is used in this game as the theme for Stage 3. Another arcade piece, the Stage 1 theme "Cross Your Heart", was recently reused in Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin under the title "Crucifix Held Close" and as an unlockable song in Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles. It is also part of the "Akumajo Dracula Medley" that appears in Konami's Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix 3 (originally appearing in the Japanese arcade and PlayStation 2 music game series Keyboardmania), along with "Bloody Tears". "Clockwork's Beat", which plays during Stage 5, was remixed in Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow under the name "Underground Melodies" (actually the name of Haunted Castle's Stage 4 theme). Finally, "Don't Wait Until Night", played during Stage 6, which borrows hints of "The Silence of Daylight" (the town music from Castlevania II), , was remixed in Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow for Julius' theme "Heart of Fire", though this particular song is actually a medley of the Haunted Castle tune and "Heart of Fire" from Stage 5 of the original Castlevania. Releases A PlayStation 2 port of Haunted Castle was released by game publisher Hamster in May 2006 as part of the Oretachi Gēsen Zoku series. This port was only released in Japan. In September 2017, Hamster released the game for the PlayStation 4 as part of their Arcade Archives line of digital releases. This version includes the option to play the Japanese, North American and European versions of the game. Haunted Castle is also included in the Arcade Hits Anniversary Collection, released digitally on April 19, 2019 for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC (via Steam). Unlike the stand-alone Arcade Archives release, the version of the game included in the compilation varies depending on the region. Notes References Category:1988 video games Category:Arcade games Category:Castlevania games Category:PlayStation 2 games Category:Video games developed in Japan Category:Single-player video games Category:Video games scored by Christopher Young Category:Video games scored by Stanley Myers Category:Video games scored by Nick Glennie-Smith Category:Video games scored by Graham Preskett Category:Video games scored by Steven Scott Smalley